The use of filters to remove impurities from fluid streams is well known. A filter is placed in the flow path of the fluid stream to collect the impurities that are present in the stream. For example, the filter may be placed in front of an inlet pipe to a fluid storage tank. The filter is made of material which will allow passage of the fluid through the filter, but will prevent egress of impurities from the filter. Thus, the impurities that are present in the fluid stream are collected in the filter as the fluid flows though it.
Because of the force of the fluid flow, the filter must be attached to the inlet pipe or other structural support, as the case may be, to prevent the filter from being carried away by the fluid. Conventionally, filters are attached to pipes using screws or spring type fixtures, e.g. spring clips. The conventional method suffers from a number of drawbacks. In particular, the attachment and removal of screws is time consuming and awkward. The awkwardness of using screws can be heightened by the environment in which the filters are often used. That is, filters must often be placed in cramped and narrow areas of a machine. In such an environment, the maneuvering of a plurality of screws soon becomes tiresome.
Spring fixtures are somewhat easier to attach, but they introduce additional problems. Specifically, spring fixtures tend to be unstable and unsteady, with the result that the filter can be lost to the fluid flow. Depending on the application in which the filter is used, the consequences of losing the filter can range in severity from poor product quality to total shutdown.